Do What You Love

I think it's time to blog again...  

I grew up in the modeling and talent industry.  Both my parents were models and they actually met at a modeling job... True story.  In fact, the year I was born my mother started her own school and agency, Advantage Models & Talent in Franklin, TN, that has been nationally recognized throughout the years.  Advantage booked Miley Cyrus in her first film, Big Fish, and has had two vogue cover models among many other talent success stories.  

Needless to say, growing up in my family required modeling and acting classes as well as track practice... 

Following in my mother's footsteps, I have modeled, acted, taught, been a makeup artist, casting director and agent.  Currently, I still audition potential talent and I had an audition recently that made me laugh and think, so I  thought I'd share it with you!

A cute, little eleven year old girl came into my audition room with her family and friends.  She wore glasses, dressed cute and stared at the floor and anywhere but myself and the other scout.  The other scout and I like to make these auditions as fun as possible.  I know how intimidating interviews and auditions are.  So we are smiling, compliment her and the first thing my co auditioner asked her was a simple: "Why are you here today? Why acting?"

The girl fumbled around, looking at the ground before she spoke thoughtfully, "Well, I was thinking about what I wanted to do when I grow up. At first I wanted to be a doctor, but that's a lot of work. So I then decided I would be a dancer, but I kept falling down. Now I think I want to be an actor, because that's easy."

Not the best first impression.  Of course the rest of her audition did not go any better either.  

The entertainment industry is very competitive and it is very hard to book jobs and earn a living, especially when performers are not one hundred percent sold out that this is what they are called and made to do.  Nothing worth having is easy.  So many very talented people give up before they ever "make it," but that's a blog for another time...

After the girl was finished with her audition, I told her if she really wanted to pursue dance and acting then she would need classes and training to improve her skills.  But I also told her very clearly that if her heart is to be a doctor, then not to waste any time on this.  Life is too short not to do what you love and are passionate about no matter how "hard" the work may be.

One of my best pieces of advice I ever received was this: "Do what you love and do it with all your heart." 

Blessings!

Creative People Should Learn From Athletes

Okay, I have a few pet peeves...

I grew up as an Athlete, Track & Field specifically, where we trained everyday.  We ran, hurdled, long jumped, high jumped, threw shot put and Javelin, spent hours in the weight room and even ate around competitions.  From the age of eight, my world revolved around Track and Track meets.

We all knew that if we didn't practice, if we slacked in the weight room or didn't eat right or weren't sleeping well, then our performances and scores would suffer.  They always did.

Granted, I know athletics have measurable standards and competitions.  It's easier to track progress because the person that runs the fastest, jumps the highest or throws the farthest wins.  But creativity is much less objective.  I do understand that in the arts there are no real measurable standards as much as there are simply opinions.

So, back to my pet peeves...  My first is that creative, artistic people tend to think that they don't have to work (that they need to wait on inspiration). Second, that somebody will discover them if they just keep being.  And third, that they can make it on their talent alone.

NONE OF THESE ARE TRUE... (at least that is my subjective opinion!)  

1. Creating does involve inspiration, but if I waited until I felt good to train or compete, I never would have won national titles much less a city meet.  Don't sit on your talent.  If you are gifted and passionate in the arts, then you have to use it every day even when you don't feel good.

2. Colleges would never have known my name if I did not qualify for and compete in the national meets.  No one will ever hear your music if you don't make any.  No one will ever cast you for a film if they don't get your headshot and resume or like your demo reel. No one will ever read your book if you never finish it.  

3. Even the best of athletes cannot rely on talent alone, someone will always out work you.  Talent is like a resource.  It is all about what you do with it.  

See a pattern here?  We creatives can learn something from the athletes.  If you want to get off the bench and play, don't wait for inspiration.  Put in the work!

People Are Like Comets

By Philipa Booyens

People are like comets shooting through the night sky.
Some flicker or shine brightly like the stars, 
Never moving far from where they came.
Some flash through the night with blinding speed, 
And fizzle out never leaving many deeds.

Each star, each comet is different.
They have different colors, 
A different brightness, 
Different speeds 
And different lengths of time they give off light.

We pass each other quickly in the span of a life, 
Never able to slow down & stop our trajectory.
For there is much that is bigger than us, 
And our flight through the night.
Much of time and space that is beyond our sight.

We must be thankful for every light we pass.
Every person that touches the soul.
However bright, however long they travel with us, 
They helped light our way, 
And gave us company in the vast expanse of space.

For we are like comets shooting through the night sky.
People like stars shining bright are quickly passed by.
Very few last and were made to travel with us, side by side. 

Why it is so hard to make a great book into a great movie? (Part 2)

Why it is so hard to make a great book into a great movie? (Part 2)

Another area of frustration is in casting.  Let’s face it, as readers we often quickly mentally cast our favorite characters.  I will admit it… I love seeing YouTube videos of ideal fan casts.  It is interesting to see what fans come up with and how other people see the characters.  Sometimes the film cast will match what fans envision, but most times it does not.

Let’s look at some real life examples…  I remember a lot of readers were really upset with the casting of Robert Pattinson as Edward in Twilight… but I think most of them got over that fast.  And as much as like Josh Hutcherson as an actor, I would not have cast him as Peeta with Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss simply because he is about two inches shorter than her.  Little bit of an issue for me… Now, after seeing the Hunger Games, I think the casting worked, but still not my choice…  I would not have cast Toby Maguire as Spiderman either, but I think he did a great job.  I also would not have Heath Ledger as the Joker in Dark Knight, but he was phenomenal. 

So who ultimately makes the final casting choices in films?  Most people think the Casting Director has that job.  While that is a good guess (I mean it makes sense with the name and everything), they’d be wrong.  What the Casting Director really does is weed out and suggest the top people from auditions.  What you may not have known is that, in most cases, the Director ultimately has the final say in who makes the cast.  So if you don’t like the cast, blame the Director, not the Casting Director!

Now, while we may be angry over these choices from time to time, let’s give the guys a break.  They are just interpreting words on a page (like we are) and trying to bring them to life.  For no matter how descriptive the writer may be with characters, we’re all going to see something different.  Only the writer knows what they really mean and what they see when they create their stories.

However, I would say that usually casting turns out well.  Directors know what they’re doing.  But I think that the best way to ensure the best cast would be to include the author in the casting process.  Just throwing it out there!

Let me know any of your thoughts!

Why it is so hard to make a great book into a great movie?

I have often heard the phrase, "the book was so much better than the movie."  In fact, I am not sure I have ever heard anyone say that they enjoyed the movie better than the book from which it was made. 

Do you ever wonder why that might be?

I started writing screenplays before novels and it took me a few years to adjust to the more narrative and descriptive form of literary books and be able to switch easily between the two forms (this was not easy).  So as a writer of both films and novels, I would like to help those interested to better understand the world of creative writing and movie making.

It usually starts with the book  

You have fallen in love with the story and emotionally connected to the characters over the course of 300-500+ pages.  You have laughed with them, cried with them and watched them grow throughout the course of the story.  In 300 + pages you had time to do that.

When writing screenplays, 1 page equals about 1 minute of screen time. That means a 120-page script is a two-hour movie.  Now, I love the Lord of the Rings films, but I still struggle to sit down for 3 - 3.5 hours to watch the extended editions, which would equal about 180 - 210 pages of script (well short of the 300 - 450 page books).  

So when adapting a book into a movie everything has to be shortened.  A screenplay writer has to look at the story as a whole and quickly decide what is important, what can be taken out and not missed.  I understand this can be infuriating for die-hard book fans, but I would argue that is why we have the book in the first place.

I would also like to note that movie theaters are businesses.  One of the biggest reasons longer movies do not get made is because they cannot show them as many times as day and end up losing money.  Not to mention most audience members do not have very long attention spans.  It is very difficult to keep someone entertained for over two hours, thus not boding well for good reviews and word of mouth to spread about the film.

Therefore, with the simple logistics of business and time constraints, there is not nearly enough time to connect with the characters on the movie screen, as you would have in the book.  Their journey is shortened.  Often times minor characters deleted, whole chapters and scenes forgotten.   

Welcome, book fan to the movie business.

More to come soon! I would love to hear your thoughts as well any films adaptions you like and would recommend.